TRUMBULL COUNTY FAIR School buses try to stay on track during muddy race for the finish

New at this year's fair, the bus races will probably be back next year.
By JAYME RAMSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BAZETTA -- Engines roared as the drivers braved the quagmire in front of a packed grandstand.
Welcome to school-bus racing at the Trumbull County Fair.
The black and orange No. 93 bus of Blackie Watt of New Alexandria, Pa., emerged as the victor Tuesday night after rain delays and 15 laps of racing.
Watt is a dirt-track legend with more than 40 years of racing experience under his belt, according to race officials. It didn't matter to him that the track was mostly mud.
Not bad for being muddy
Bud Rodgers of Cortland, who assisted with the race, was pleased with the turnout.
"It was a packed place for a rainy, muddy night. If it had been drier, we would have had a really good show, but I think it was good anyway," he said.
Rodgers is also a member of the fair's entertainment committee, which he expects to bring the event back next year.
One race assistant said he enjoyed his first experience despite standing in the rain for more than an hour.
"This is the first one for me. They asked me to flag this," Shawn Miller of Canfield said. "It was more wet than anything out there, but it was a good time."
Miller said he would be the flagman for the event again as long as the weather is better.
Some spectators walked out early, disappointed that the buses were accelerating to a mere 55 mph, when in drier conditions they might have hit 80. Others said they were expecting a school bus demolition derby.
Most, however, walked away happy.
Disappointed drivers
Some local bus drivers were disappointed that they were passed over for out-of-state drivers.
"This is our Trumbull County Fair and we should have got to drive if we wanted to drive," said Aaren Boyles, a Lakeview School District bus driver and Cortland resident.
"We probably wouldn't be able to go as fast as those guys out there, but we could still go."
Boyles said she would have jumped at the chance to drive if she were allowed.
"I know a few other drivers that would have loved to, but they wouldn't let us."
Rodgers said difficulties with insurance liability prevented local drivers from taking the track.
"We were going to go out and rent some buses and do it but our insurance wouldn't cover them," he said.